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chapter eight !

BY THE TIME the very last walker has given up and found someplace elsewhere to attend to, the sun has began to rise, letting me know that it is a new day.

"I think they're gone, I can't see anymore of them." James whispers to me, peering out the window and making sure the coast is clear.

I stop trying to hold the bookshelf up and immediately sink to the ground. Trying to calm down and catch my breath, I wipe away the locks of hair that have stuck to my forehead.

James sits down next to me, breathing heavily. We sit in silence for awhile, just resting.

After awhile I get up and grab James' bag. Opening it I take a can of beans and head to the kitchen. I open a drawer and to my luck there's a tin opener and spoons. I hand James a spoon and we eat.

"I have a car, a few miles away." He says between mouthfuls. "There's not much fuel left in it, but it should get us back to camp."

Ever since I met James, he's been nothing but nice to me. I wonder if there's a catch.

"Us?" I question him with uncertainty.

"Yeah?" He says, confused. "You're coming back with me, are you not?"

"Well, are you sure? I don't want to seem like a bother. I am not that good at defending myself. Back at our old camp I was looking after the leader of the groups baby, so I didn't do much fighting."

"That's alright. Not everyone back at our camp is that good at fighting either, it just comes naturally to some people. Me and a few others do training lessons, we'll teach you."

I am completely taken aback at his kindness. I don't know what to say other than thank you.

"You're welcome." He says getting up.

I get up aswell and together we push the bookshelf to the side. We do a last search of the house to make sure we didn't miss anything useful.

It dosent take long as the cabin is so small. When we are done, I open the door and James leads the way to the car.

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IT DOSENT TAKE long for us to get to the car, throwing the bag into the backseat, James starts the car up and soon we are on the road.

"How far away is the camp?"

"Not far, half an hour at most. That's why I'm pretty sure we'll have just enough fuel to make it there."

"How many of you are there?"

"Thirty three altogether now, one less because of Marcus but thirty four including you."

"Marcus? You mean the man we left behind?"

"Yeah that's him."

"What will you say happened to Marcus?"

"Nothing, none of us liked him anyway, he was a complete asshole. Would always be yelling about something, scaring the kids and never helped out. I think I did everyone a favour."

"I think so too."

"The only slight problem we have is Devon."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he might be pissed that I brought you back to camp. He dosent trust most people, especially in a world like this. But I can tell your harmless and I would feel bad if I left you on your own."

"If you had told me that before I got in the car I definitely wouldn't have come with you."

"Oh, I know. That's why I didn't tell you." He smiles.

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Half an hour passes and we reach the camp. High walls surround and protect the camp, and there are two people guarding the front gates when we arrive. They recognise the car but turn to eachother with a look of confusion when they see me in the passenger seat. I cross my fingers and hope for the best.

They wave at James to come out of the car, so he does.

"Who's the girl?"

"I found her while I was out looking for food, she was on her own, couldn't leave her to just die."

"You should have, Devon's not gonna like this."

"Just open the gate. I'll deal with him."

He opens the gate, and James drives into the camp.

"That was Mason." He informs me.

As we arrive into the camp, its not what I expected it to be.

We are greeted by warm smiles and 'hello,' 'glad you made it back safely.' It's really nice to see human faces, I feel like it's been forever since I've seen some.

There are little tables,with umbrellas to protect the people from the sun, scattered all over the camp.

At one of the tables, there is a lady stirring a big pot, presumably filled with some kind of soup.

To my right, there is a group of children, all huddled in a circle and being read a story. It makes my heart feel so warm.

"See, over there." James says, pointing up ahead to a group of people standing in a corner. There is a man holding a gun, and the group peers as it expectantly, and I presume he is teaching them how to use it.

"Training?"

"Yeah, it's on four times a week for around an hour."

I turn my gaze towards a big house, it's not too big but it's certainly not small. It has a red door and open red windows. Despite the blazing sun, smoke spits out of the chimney.

"Is this where you guys sleep?"

"Sure is. It dosent look like it but there's actually alot of pretty spacious bedrooms in there, three bathrooms a kitchen and we converted the living room into a library so some of the ladies are able to homeschool their children, I think it's nice that they have hope and something to hold on to, that this isn't just the end of it all. You know?"

"Yes. I think it's really nice too." I can't help but smile. This place seems really promising, almost too good to be true.

James parks the car and we get out. I lift my hand to shield my eyes from the sun, its too hot today. James grabs the bag from the backseat and looks at me with a grin on his face. "You ready to meet everyone and take a tour inside?"

"Definetely."

He leads the way inside to the house first, opening the door I am surprised to see a "welcome" mat at the front door. There is a table to the right of the hall, and perched on top is a vase of wild purple flowers.

They remind me of the ones I placed on Judith's cot before I had to leave the prison.

I turn my attention to the stairs in the middle of the hall, and a small girl, with long brown hair, wearing a pretty yellow sundress comes racing down the stairs towards me and James.

"James!!!!" She squels with excitement, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a big hug.

James hugs her back and turns to me. "Lily, this is beth. She's going to be staying with us for awhile. Beth this is my sister Lily."

James let's go of her and I get down on one knee, to Lilys height. "Hello there. I really like your dress."

"Thank you." She says shyly. "Would you like to see my room?"

I don't have time to answer as she grabs my hand and drags me away. Laughing, James says "have fun!"

Lily pulls my hand up the stairs and drags me to the very end of the corridor, a small room on the left. She opens the door and I can't help but smile.

It's a real bedroom, not an old cell but a real bedroom.

The walls are a pastel yellow and on the right wall someone has painted little lilies all over it. The curtains are pink and there are toys in the corner. Judith would have loved something like this. Rick was always saying how he wanted to do up one of the cells for her so she could have somewhere to play, he never got the chance.

"Aren't you a very lucky girl to have such a lovely room?"

"Devon painted the flowers, he says that they are lilies, like my name. Have you seen him yet?"

"No, not yet."

"You have to meet him, I think you'll really like him." She says to me, grabbing my hand once again and dragging me away.

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